The first day we met in person, M. and I had a business lunch at the sadly now defunct Tabla Bread Bar -- and then a romantic dinner at Giorgione. Thankfully, Giorgione is still around, and the driving rain didn't stop us from having a lovely time last night.
Drawn on the back of yesterday's dinner specials menu with a Pilot Petit1 fountain pen. The ink in it is not waterproof, so I colored it digitally with my pen tablet.
Good friends, good weather, good things to draw = great weekend in Boston. After I finally put away the BlackBerry and laptop, M. and I wandered across the street from our room at the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro to Caffe Bella Vita so I could draw while sipping hot lemon-ginger tea.
Later that evening we T'd over to Harvard Square for dinner. M. got a haircut at the old-school La Flamme barber shop, so I took the opportunity to sketch the patrons.
Saturday morning, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. I was going to get the newspaper but realized the older gentleman across the way was reading the headlines aloud to his companion, so we happily eavesdropped and were soon caught up with everything that was going on in the world.
After a jaunt through the North End, we hopped on the T to the Museum of Science and spent an hour and a half learning the pros and cons of fracking, why it's safe to be in a car during lightning, and all kinds of things about geckos. Oh, and we watched cotton-top tamarins running around. They move FAST.
Browsing at the Brooklyn Flea
Sunday, February 12, 2012Last time we'd been to the Brooklyn Flea, it was in DUMBO and crazy crowded. This time we came early, by car, and had lots of room to wander about. Its current winter home is a beautiful former bank building in Fort Greene -- a lovely, vaulting setting for slightly overpriced vintage wares. Didn't buy a lot, but didn't expect to. Brunched at No. 7 afterward (broccoli tacos! love!), a few blocks away. The frigid temps drove us back early; next time, we'll stay and explore a bit more.
Had to fly to London for work a few weeks ago, so I got to hang out in the Virgin Upper Class lounge at Newark Liberty International Airport. Outside the snow was falling; inside it was a mod, mod world. It's a retro-cool living room, with color-categorized book spines and lipstick-red seats. As I noshed on the complimentary breakfast fare, I looked up and did a double take -- Gordon Ramsay was sitting just over there. He chatted with fellow passengers, gamely posed for a camera-clutching fan -- and ate toast and jam, just like the rest of us. I sketched him as he took a cell-phone call.